DEXTER, Maine — A Belfast man had to be airlifted to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor after crashing his car Friday morning, according to Dexter police.

James Richards, 25, was traveling north on Route 23 when his vehicle left the road just south of Tremblay Road in Dexter.

“Apparently he hit a couple of trees,” said Dexter police Sgt. Alan Grinnell. “He had some trauma from the crash.”

Officials at EMMC had no information on Richards’ condition Friday evening.

“We did have to extricate him [from the car],” said Matt Connor, Dexter’s fire chief. “We had to cut the B-post out of the car so we could get him out. It was a tough one, really.”

Connor said Dexter’s fire crew spent nearly a half-hour getting Richards out of his 1999 Mercury Sable. An EMS crew from Mayo Regional Hospital also assisted.

“He wound up hitting the trees on the driver’s side, which more or less pushed that whole tire in,” said Connor. “Once he hit the trees, he landed back on the embankment. It was tough. Not one you plan for everyday.”

Connor said the angle at which the car was sitting made the extraction difficult, because his team had to stabilize the car. He added that Richards was talking the whole time they were getting him out of the car.